Disagreements Between Netanyahu and Trump Might Have Been Overblown

As President Trump launched on Friday his sixth meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a year, some disagreements seemed to have been smoothed over, indicating that reports of a rift between Washington and Jerusalem might have been overblown. “We had about a five minute meeting, and we’ve already settled about three of the difficulties,” Mr. Trump said as Israeli and American teams sat for lunch at Mar-a-Lago. Earlier he said that Mr. Netanyahu is a “wartime leader” without whom Israel might not have survived. The Israeli visitor averred that Israel never had a better friend at the White House than Mr. Trump.On Gaza, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and even a pardon for the Israeli guest, the two leaders seemed eager to agree. On Syria and Turkey’s participation in a Gaza force, though, some disagreements seemed clear even through the lovefest both sides were happy to present.While Washington is itching to start the rehabilitation of Gaza, Israel’s top aim is to complete the yet-unfinished disarmament of Hamas. Knowing he needed to square that circle, Mr. Trump told reporters that Gaza’s rebuilding needs to start “quickly, as quickly as we can, but there has to be a disarmament.” It’s “one of the things we’ll talk about certainly,” he added, “but there has to be a disarming of Hamas.”Israel is increasingly concerned about Iran’s growing arsenal of ballistic missiles. A London-based anti regime website, Iran International, is reporting that the Islamic Republic is developing chemical- and biological-tipped missiles that can hit Israel. Jerusalem is eager to follow the June 12-day war with a mop-up operation against Iran’s missile production centers, while Mr. Trump, reportedly, would rather put the Iran chapter behind him. Yet “if they will continue with the missiles, yes” and “the nuclear, fast,” Mr. Trump said when asked if he would greenlight strikes against Iran. “One will be yes, absolutely. The other, we’ll do it immediately,” he said, indicating that America would join Israel on the latter. One of the largest remaining rifts between the leaders was over Turkey’s participation in Gaza’s post-war project. Jerusalem sees President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a regional foe who often spews antisemitic statements. Ankara is the only country — so far — that agrees to participate in an international force in Gaza. Yet Israelis across the political spectrum object, saying Turkey supports Hamas. “I have a great relationship with President Erdogan, and we’ll be talking about it,” Mr. Trump said, adding though that a final decision would “be having to do with Bibi. We’re going to be talking about that.” Turkey, he added, “has been great,” and Mr. Erdogan has been “excellent, as far as I’m concerned.” Israel is also concerned about Turkey’s attempts to be the dominant power in Syria after it aided Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al Sharaa, in his rise to power despite his past affiliation with Al Qaeda. “The new president of Syria is working very hard to do a good job,” Mr. Trump said. “You’re not going to get a choir boy to lead Syria,” Turning to Mr. Netanyahu, he added, “I hope they’re going to get along.”

Disagreements Between Netanyahu and Trump Might Have Been Overblown

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